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Shares of Block lower on short seller report!

Block intends to explore legal action against Hindenburg Research

#Hindenburg Research has published a short report on Block (SQ), formerly known as Square, stating that the firm’s “2-year investigation has concluded that Block has systematically taken advantage of the demographics it claims to be helping.

The “magic” behind Block’s business has not been disruptive innovation, but rather the company’s willingness to facilitate fraud against consumers and the government, avoid regulation, dress up predatory loans and fees as revolutionary technology, and mislead investors with inflated metrics.”

The firm, which discloses that it has taken a short position in shares of Block, contends that the company “has misled investors on key metrics, and embraced predatory offerings and compliance worst-practices in order to fuel growth and profit from facilitation of fraud against consumers and the government.”

In addition, it believes “Jack Dorsey has built an empire-and amassed a $5 billion personal fortune-professing to care deeply about the demographics he is taking advantage of. With Dorsey and top executives already having sold over $1 billion in equity on Block’s meteoric pandemic run higher, they have ensured they will be fine, regardless of the outcome for everyone else.”

Block Responds

Block said in a statement: “We intend to work with the SEC and explore legal action against #Hindenburg Research for the factually inaccurate and misleading report they shared about our Cash App business today.

Hindenburg is known for these types of attacks, which are designed solely to allow short sellers to profit from a declined stock price. We have reviewed the full report in the context of our own data and believe it’s designed to deceive and confuse investors. We are a highly regulated public company with regular disclosures, and are confident in our products, reporting, compliance programs, and controls. We will not be distracted by typical short seller tactics.”

Robert Baird

Baird analyst David #Koning comments on a short report that is significantly weighing on Block shares in pre-market trading, noting that the report implies that the company’s CashApp is reasonably easy, or relatively easier than other banking services, for criminals to use and claims that CashApp is somewhat complicit in allowing this type of behavior.

However, the firm believes Block helps many underbanked access the financial markets and “like any organization probably has some clients that are criminals.” The firm views the stock as good value, but is concerned with the prevalence of any criminal activity and how this could impact investor sentiment, estimating that “in a pretty dire case” shedding 20% of accounts could impact about 8% of total gross profit. Baird has an Outperform rating and $92 price target on Block shares, which are down about 20% to $58.07 in early trading following Hindenburg Research’s short report.

KeyBanc

KeyBanc analyst Josh #Beck sees “no merit to the disparaging claims” made against Block by a “smaller outfit” that published a short report and rather views the report as “observations from a relatively novice industry outsider who is not familiar with standard operating practices and principles within the FinTech industry.”

The firm, which said Block is subject to numerous laws and regulations as a financial services provider, believes Block “fully complies with applicable regulations and laws and prevents the maximal amount of fraud possible within a business that is inherently subject to, while not immune to, any instances of fraud.” KeyBanc has an Overweight rating and $100 price target on Block shares, 

Mizuho

Mizuho analyst Dan #Dolev says Hindenburg Research’s short report “makes valid arguments,” such as the slowdown in inflows and sustainability of the instant deposit fees.

While this might increase regulatory scrutiny, other claims and risks around high, unregulated interchange fees and definition of monthly users are well known to investors, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says other aspects of the report, like adding back stock based compensation after Block publicly shifted focus to include non-cash expenses in operating income, “may hold less water.”

Mizuho says the near-term bull case on Blok remains reaching better than expected profits helped by cost control. The long-term bull case remains creating a “unique” closed-loop payments network by connecting merchants and consumers, the firm adds. It has a Buy rating on the stock with a $93 price target.

Raymond James

Raymond James contends that this morning’s short report on Block issued by Hindenburg Research doesn’t include a lot of “new” news or a “bombshell” and argues that the biggest risk is potentially drawing scrutiny from regulators and politicians, which could create an overhang on the stock.

However, given the situation concerning SVB Financial (SIVB) and the current banking fallout, the firm would guess “this is way down the list of priorities” for financial regulators at this time.

The firm, which adds that “while being accused of overstating users certainly isn’t positive,” notes that there are no accusations of fraudulent accounting and the “revenue is real.” Raymond James has a Market Perform rating on Block shares.

RBC Capital

RBC Capital analyst Daniel Perlin made no change to the firm’s Outperform rating or $95 price target on shares of Block. The firm says the short report that was released today focuses on Block’s “underbanked” user base, as being a series of bad actors, enabling the overstatement of its users metrics, as well as BNPL via its acquisition of Afterpay, systematically embracing predatory pricing, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

RBC Capital’s view of the stock is unchanged, but thinks the negative overhang can persist for some time.

Shares of Block are down 20% to $58.10.

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Rig Counts Declined last week!

Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count down 12 to 759 rigs

Baker Hughes (BKR) reports that the U.S. rig count is down 12 from last week to 759 with oil rigs down 10 to 599, gas rigs down 2 to 158 and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 2.

The U.S. Rig Count is up 146 rigs from last year’s count of 613 with oil rigs up 102, gas rigs up 42 and miscellaneous up 2.

The U.S. Offshore Rig Count is down 1 to 12, down 4 year-over-year. The Canada Rig Count is up 2 from last week to 249, with oil rigs up 2 to 159, gas rigs unchanged at 90.

The Canada Rig Count is up 31 rigs from last year’s count of 218 with oil rigs up 23, gas rigs up 8.

The Baker Hughes rig counts are counts of the number of drilling rigs actively exploring for or developing oil or natural gas in the U.S., Canada and international markets.

The Company has issued the rig counts as a service to the petroleum industry since 1944, when Hughes Tool Company began weekly counts of the U.S. and Canadian drilling activity. The monthly international rig count was initiated in 1975.

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West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is down $2.05 to $73.81 per barrel (down from a high of $123.70). Brent crude is down $2.06 to $80.19 per barre (down from a high of $127.98). Gasoline last traded at $2.349 per gallon (down from a high of $4.31 per gallon).

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Stockwinners Portfolio returns 22.8% in 2022

S&P 500 declined 19.6% during the same period

The bear market of 2022 cost most investors dearly whereas Stockwinners readers were able to register double digit returns. Our experience in the past 24 years has taught us how to avoid pitfall of following crowds and Wall Street gurus. In fact, we stayed away from story stocks such Tesla (TSLA), Paypal Holdings (PYPL) and Meta Platform (META). We concentrated on small to medium cap stocks. These stocks typically do not have any exposure to overseas markets and are traded on their own fundamentals.

Russian invasion of Ukraine created unique trading opportunities for investors. The vicious invasion of Ukraine caused energy and commodity prices skyrocket thus offering opportunities in that space. In fact, one of our better performers on the year was EPAM System (EPAM). This software company has about 25 percent of its workforce located in the eastern European country. Those who bought the stock based on our recommendations were rewarded with a 23% return in two days.

Energy stocks were awakened with the invasion. Crude oil shot up to $106.50 from $70 per barrel. This price increase buoyed energy stocks. Amongst our better performers were shares of Par Pacific Holdings (PARR). The refiner shares gained fifteen percent following our recommendations.

Other commodity stocks that were featured in our portfolio included those involved in precious and rare minerals mining. Livent Corporation (LTHM) was one such name. The lithium miner was featured several times with solid returns. The returns were 14%, 12% and 18%. Sigma Lithium Corporation (SGML) was another name in the sector. It gained 14% following our recommendations.

Sierra Wireless, Inc. (SWIR) was another stock that came to our attention. The company provides device-to-cloud Internet of Things (IoT) solutions. Shares were featured in August with success. Stock gained 18 percents in two weeks.

We featured put options (shorting the stock) on several names. One of the names featured was Open Text Corporation (OTEX). Put option on the name returned 325% in 17 days. The put was featured at $1.50 and it was closed 17 days later at $6.40. Another name that was featured several times was Carvana (CVNA). Shares of the used car retailer have fallen from $300 to $3.55.

A strong employment market created opportunity in placement companies. Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. (CCRN) was such name. The company places medical staff. Shares were featured in August and gained 18% in less than two weeks.

Our portfolio can be downloaded here. Additionally, one may download our selections for the past 18 years in a spreadsheet format.

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Vivint Smart Home sold for $2.8B

NRG Energy to acquire Vivint Smart Home for $12 per share, or $2.8B cash

NRG Energy (NRG) and Vivint Smart Home (VVNT) announced they have entered into a definitive agreement under which NRG will acquire Vivint for $12 per share or $2.8B in an all-cash transaction with an implied multiple of 6.3x run-rate Enterprise Value to Adjusted EBITDA. The agreement has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies.

Vivint Smart Home engages in the sale, installation, servicing, and monitoring of smart home and security systems primarily in the United States and Canada. The company’s smart home platform includes cloud-enabled smart home operating systems; AI-driven smart home automation and assistance software; software-enabled smart home devices; and tech-enabled services to educate, manage, and support the smart home. 

NRG Energy operates as an integrated power company in the United States. 

NRG will acquire 100% of the outstanding equity of Vivint for a total transaction value of $5.2B, which consists of approximately $2.8B in cash and the assumption of $2.4B of debt (net of cash), which benefits from attractive terms and pricing.

This consideration represents a premium of approximately 33% to Vivint’s closing share price on December 5, 2022.

NRG’s capital allocation strategy will continue to opportunistically balance its growth, return of capital, and balance sheet objectives.

NRG intends to complete its existing $1 billion share repurchase program over the near term, of which $360 million was remaining as of November 30, 2022.

In 2023, NRG expects to use its excess free cash flow to fund the Vivint acquisition, reduce acquisition-related debt, and maintain its common stock dividend growth policy.

In 2024, the Company intends to return to its 50% return of capital / 50% growth capital allocation policy.

NRG remains highly committed to its dividend growth policy, which remains unchanged from previous guidance.

Management remains committed to maintaining its strong balance sheet and credit ratings.

The Company expects to achieve its investment grade credit metrics target of 2.50-2.75x Net Debt / Adjusted EBITDA by late 2025 to 2026 through the combination of debt reduction and growth.

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including the expiration of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976. Upon completion of the transaction, NRG intends to maintain a significant presence in Utah.

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ForgeRock sold for $2.3 billion

ForgeRock to be acquired by Thoma Bravo for $23.25 per share in cash

ForgeRock announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Thoma Bravo for $23.25 per share, in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $2.3B.

The offer represents a premium of approximately 53% over ForgeRock’s closing share price on October 10, the last full trading day prior to the transaction announcement, and a premium of approximately 44% over the volume weighted average price of ForgeRock stock for the 30 days ending October 10.

The transaction, which was unanimously approved by the ForgeRock board of directors, is currently expected to close in the first half of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by ForgeRock’s shareholders and the receipt of required regulatory approvals.

ForgeRock, Inc. operates a digital identity platform to secure, manage, and govern the identities of customers, employees, partners, application programing interfaces (APIs), microservices, devices, and the Internet of things worldwide. It offers identity management products to automate onboarding/registration and progressive profiling, identity lifecycle and relationship management, identity provisioning and synchronization, user self-service, personalization, delegation, and privacy and consent management. 

Upon completion of the transaction, ForgeRock’s common stock will no longer be publicly listed and ForgeRock will become a privately held company.

FORG is up $7.38 to $22.53.

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Emerson Electric to sell InSinkErator to Whirlpool for $3B

Whirlpool confirms pact with Emerson Electric to acquire InSinkErator for $3B

Whirlpool (WHR) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Emerson Electric (EMR) to acquire InSinkErator, the world’s largest manufacturer of food waste disposers and instant hot water dispensers for home and commercial use, in an all-cash transaction for $3B.

The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to Whirlpool Corporation’s margins, adding approximately $1.25 EPS accretion in fiscal 2023.

Whirlpool also expects to generate revenue upside by capitalizing on InSinkErator’s leading consumer brand preference, an installed base that is five times larger than the rest of the industry driving a recurring sales profile, the strong underlying secular tailwinds of the U.S. housing market, and the expansion of the InSinkErator brand into new markets and product offerings.

Whirlpool plans to initially fund the acquisition through available liquidity, with new debt put in place at a later date.

The acquisition, which has been approved by the Board of Directors of both companies, is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Whirlpool’s 2022 guidance remains unchanged.

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Unity Buys IronSource, Shares Tumble

Unity Software, IronSource to merge in a$4.4B all-stock deal

Unity (U) and ironSource (IS) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which ironSource will merge into a wholly-owned subsidiary of Unity via an all-stock deal, where each ordinary share of ironSource will be exchanged for 0.1089 shares of Unity common stock.

Once closed, current Unity stockholders will own approximately 73.5% and current ironSource shareholders will own approximately 26.5% of the combined company.

The companies’ complementary offerings create a unique end-to-end platform that allows creators to create, publish, run, monetize, and grow live games and RT3D content seamlessly.

The proposed all-stock transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies, is expected to close during Unity’s fourth quarter of 2022 and is subject to customary closing conditions, and regulatory and shareholder approval.

The combined company is expected to generate a run rate of $1B in Adjusted EBITDA by the end of 2024.

Six Months Chart of Unity

Unity Cuts Guidance

Unity Software cut FY22 revenue view to $1.3B-$1.35B from $1.35B-$1.425B – FY22 consensus was for $1.47B. Cites current assessment of macro trends, product launch and competitive dynamic with the monetization business.

Unity expects second quarter financial results to be slightly higher than the top end of the guidance range provided during its first quarter earnings call.

Needham

Needham analyst Bernie McTernan downgraded ironSource (IS) to Hold from Buy after the company announced its intent to merge with Unity (U) in an all-stock transaction. The analyst notes that ironSource shares trade at a 8% discount to the implied takeout price.

McTernan adds that the companies’ complementary platform fit, plus profitability that ironSource provides, were reasons for the large premium paid and will likely prevent smaller players from making an over-the-top offer as consolidation continues to be a theme in the mobile ad-tech space.

Piper Sandler

Piper downgrades Unity to Neutral, says ironSource deal creates overhang – Piper Sandler analyst Brent Bracelin downgraded Unity (U) to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $34, down from $55, after the company announced a deal to merge with ironSource (IS).

While stating that the pending merger “appears to be a highly strategic acquisition that not only adds material scale and product breadth to the gaming segment but could also help improve profitability,” Bracelin cut his rating based on the near-term overhang that he sees the merger creating as well as increased execution risk over the next six to nine months.

DA Davidson

DA Davidson analyst Franco Granda lowered the firm’s price target on Unity (U) to $60 from $85 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company’s deal to acquire ironSource (IS) is “very attractive” due to the confluence of revenue and cost synergies, attractive valuation, and highly complementary tech stack amidst a backdrop of privacy-driven platform changes and macro pressures, though his reduced price target reflects lower broader market multiples, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

Ark Investments

Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment bought 1.02M shares of Unity on Wednesday.

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Rail Traffic Declined Last Week!

North American rail traffic fell 7.5% for the week ending April 16

The Association of American Railroads, AAR, reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending April 16.

For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 489,801 carloads and intermodal units, down 8.1% compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending April 16 were 221,228 carloads, down 6.8% compared with the same week in 2021, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 268,573 containers and trailers, down 9.2% compared to 2021. North American rail volume for the week ending April 16 on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 319,064 carloads, down 6.8% compared with the same week last year, and 354,060 intermodal units, down 8.1% compared with last year.

Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 673,124 carloads and intermodal units, down 7.5%.

North American rail volume for the first 15 weeks of 2022 was 9,987,458 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.9% compared with 2021.

Publicly traded companies in the space include CSX (CSX), Canadian National (CNI), Canadian Pacific (CP), Kansas City Southern (KSU), Norfolk Southern (NSC), Trinity Industries (TRN), Greenbrier (GBX), Wabtec (WAB), FreightCar America (RAIL), Union Pacific (UNP) and GATX (GATX).

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American Campus sold for $12.8B

American Campus to be acquired by Blackstone for $65.47 per share in cash

American Campus Communities (ACC) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement under which Blackstone (BX) Core+ perpetual capital vehicles, primarily comprised of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, alongside Blackstone Property Partners, will acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of ACC for $65.47 per fully diluted share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $12.8B, including the assumption of debt.

American Campus Communities, Inc. is the largest owner, manager and developer of high-quality student housing communities in the United States. The company is a fully integrated, self-managed and self-administered equity real estate investment trust (REIT) with expertise in the design, finance, development, construction management and operational management of student housing properties.

The purchase price represents a premium of 22% to the 90-calendar day volume-weighted average share price ending April 18, a premium of 30% over the closing stock price of February 16, the date immediately prior to the company disclosing receipt of an indication of willingness to offer to acquire the company, and a 14% premium to yesterday’s closing price.

The transaction has been unanimously approved by ACC’s board of directors and the independent Special Committee of ACC’s board and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2022, subject to approval by ACC’s shareholders and other customary closing conditions.

As a condition to the transaction, ACC has agreed to suspend payment of its quarterly dividend, effective immediately.

ACC shares are up $7.25 to $64.83.

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Short Seller Targets Core Scientific

Culper Research short Core Scientific on ‘rigged deals,’ oversold businesses

In a recently published report titled “Core Scientific, Inc. (CORZ): Rigged Deals,” Culper Research says it is “short Core, as we think Core has wildly oversold both its mining and hosting businesses, which it cobbled together in a series of questionable transactions before dumping onto the public markets via SPAC.

Core’s acquired mining business, Blockcap, was formed in December 2020 with just $58.5 million, then flipped to Core for just 7 months later for $1.46 billion in connection with Core’s go-public.

We estimate Blockcap insiders made 20-25x their money.

On Monday, Core disclosed that its board waived the 180- day lockup on over 282 million shares, making them free to be dumped just 5 trading days from today.

We believe this shows insiders have abandoned any pretense of care for minority shareholders.”

“We think Core is no exception to what’s become a steady drumbeat of egregious projections made by many SPACs. We think both Core’s hosting business and its self-mining business have been wildly overhyped, and it’s no wonder that insiders can’t even wait 6 months to clamor for the exits,” the report reads.

“We also think Core has wildly overhyped the profitability of its self-mining business, where we estimate all-in breakeven costs of $41,723 per BTC (Bitcoin) vs. the Company’s SPAC claims of $2,700 just in power costs per BTC.

As such, we see Core as effectively using public markets to throw good money after bad while insiders set themselves up to dump billions worth of stock.”

In Thursday trading, shares of Core Scientific have dropped almost 3% to $7.50.

According to Wikipedia, being short in an asset means investing in such a way that the investor will profit if the value of the asset falls. This is the opposite of a more conventional “long” position, where the investor will profit if the value of the asset rises.

There are a number of ways of achieving a short position. The most fundamental method is “physical” selling short or short-selling, which involves borrowing assets (often securities such as shares or bonds) and selling them. The investor will later purchase the same number of the same type of securities in order to return them to the lender.

Core Scientific, Inc. (CORZ) last traded at $7.15.

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Frontier buys Spirit Airlines

Frontier, Spirit to combine in deal that implies $25.83 per Spirit share

Spirit Airlines (SAVE) and Frontier Group Holdings (ULCC) announced a definitive merger agreement under which the companies will combine, creating America’s most competitive ultra-low fare airline.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, Spirit equity holders will receive 1.9126 shares of Frontier plus $2.13 in cash for each existing Spirit share they own.

This implies a value of $25.83 per Spirit share at Frontier’s closing stock price of $12.39 on February 4, 2022, representing a premium of 19% over the February 4, 2022, closing price of Spirit, and a 26% premium based on the 30 trading-day volume-weighted average prices of Frontier and Spirit.

The transaction values Spirit at a fully diluted equity value of $2.9B, and a transaction value of $6.6B when accounting for the assumption of net debt and operating lease liabilities.

Upon closing of the transaction, existing Frontier equity holders will own approximately 51.5% and existing Spirit equity holders will own approximately 48.5% of the combined airline, on a fully diluted basis, providing both Frontier and Spirit equity holders with substantial upside potential.

Spirit Route Map

The Board of Directors for the new airline will be comprised of 12 directors (including the CEO), seven of whom will be named by Frontier and five of whom will be named by Spirit.

Bill Franke, CEO of the Indigo Partners, will be Chairman of the Board of the combined company.

Frontier Route Map

The merger is expected to close in the second half of 2022, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including completion of the regulatory review process and approval by Spirit stockholders.

Frontier’s controlling stockholder has approved the transaction and related issuance of shares of Frontier common stock upon signing of the merger agreement.

The combined company’s management team, branding and headquarters will be determined by a committee led by Franke prior to close.

Separately, Spirit reported Q4 revenue $987.56M, consensus $963.15M.

“Our fourth quarter 2021 results came in better-than-expected, despite the negative impact from Omicron-related flight disruptions, primarily due to very strong demand over the peak December holiday period. I want to thank the entire Spirit team for their professionalism and commitment to providing excellent service to our Guests,” said Ted Christie, Spirit’s president and CEO.

Ted Christie, Spirit’s president and CEO

Spirit Airlines is up 15.9%, or $3.46 to $25.20. Frontier Group is up 14 cents to $12.81.

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Cedar Fair receives take over offer!

Cedar Fair jumps after Bloomberg report of SeaWorld takeover bid

SeaWorld Entertainment (SEAS) has offered to buy Cedar Fair (FUN) for around $3.4B or $60 per share, Bloomberg reports, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Cedar Fair owns and operates amusement and water parks, and complementary resort facilities in the United States and Canada. Its amusement parks include Cedar Point located on Lake Erie between Cleveland and Toledo in Sandusky, Ohio; Knott’s Berry Farm near Los Angeles, California; Canada’s Wonderland near Toronto, Ontario; Kings Island near Cincinnati, Ohio; Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina; Kings Dominion situated near Richmond, Virginia; California’s Great America located in Santa Clara, California; Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in Allentown, Pennsylvania; Worlds of Fun located in Kansas City, Missouri; Valleyfair situated near Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota; Michigan’s Adventure situated near Muskegon, Michigan; Schlitterbahn Waterpark & Resort New Braunfels in New Braunfels, Texas; and Schlitterbahn Waterpark Galveston in Galveston, Texas. 

SeaWorld Entertainment operates as a theme park and entertainment company in the United States. The company operates SeaWorld theme parks in Orlando, Florida; San Antonio, Texas; and San Diego, California, as well as Busch Gardens theme parks in Tampa, Florida, and Williamsburg, Virginia. 

Cedar Fair Properties

The companies are working with advisers on the proposal and deliberations are ongoing, sources told Bloomberg.

It is unclear if the approach will lead to a transaction, they added.

Shares of SeaWorld are little changed at $59.29 following the report while Cedar Fair halted for volatility after jumping 11% to $55.59.

Six Flags Entertainment (SIX), which owns amusement parks like Cedar Fair, is up 5% to $41.60 following the report.

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Citrix Systems sold for $104 per share

Citrix to be acquired by Vista, Evergreen in $16.5B all-cash transaction

Citrix (CTXS) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement under which affiliates of Vista Equity Partners, a global investment firm focused exclusively on enterprise software, data and technology-enabled businesses, and Evergreen, an affiliate of Elliott, will acquire Citrix in an all-cash transaction valued at $16.5B, including the assumption of Citrix debt.

Under the terms of the agreement, Citrix shareholders will receive $104.00 in cash per share.

The per share purchase price represents a premium of 30% over the company’s unaffected 5-day VWAP as of December 7, 2021, the last trading day before market speculation regarding a potential transaction, and a premium of 24% over the closing price on December 20, 2021, the last trading day prior to media reports regarding a potential bid from Vista and Evergreen.

In connection with the transaction, Vista and Evergreen intend to combine Citrix and Tibco Software, one of Vista’s portfolio companies.

Citrix makes software that workers use to log onto to their corporate programs virtually, a category of product extensively relied upon during the pandemic as businesses sought quick ways to keep remote workforces connected to central operations. Many are now planning permanent hybrid setups for home and office working, which is expected to grow the market for tools that help make this seamless.

As part of the transaction, Vista and Evergreen plan to combine Citrix with Tibco Software, an enterprise data management firm that’s one of Vista’s portfolio companies. The combination will create one of the world’s largest software providers, serving 400,000 customers, according to the statement.

Citrix shares are down 3.8% to $101.54.

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Rig Counts Jump to over 600 amid strong oil prices

Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count up 13 to 601 rigs

Baker Hughes (BKR) reports that the U.S. rig count is up 13 from last week to 601 with oil rigs up 11 to 492, gas up 2 to 109, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 0.

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Rig Counts Rise – See Stockwinners.com Market Radar to read more

The U.S. Rig Count is up 228 rigs from last year’s count of 373, with oil rigs up 205 gas rigs up 24 and miscellaneous rigs down 1.

The U.S. Offshore Rig Count is up 2 to 18, up 2 year-over-year.

The international offshore rig count for April 2018 was 194. Stockwinners
The U.S. offshore rig count is up 2.

The Canada Rig Count is up 50 from last week to 191, with oil rigs up 43 to 121, gas rigs up 7 to 70.

Canada Rig Count is up 30 rigs from last year’s count of 161, with oil rigs up 31, gas rigs down 1.

The Baker Hughes rig counts are counts of the number of drilling rigs actively exploring for or developing oil or natural gas in the U.S., Canada and international markets.

The Company has issued the rig counts as a service to the petroleum industry since 1944, when Hughes Tool Company began weekly counts of the U.S. and Canadian drilling activity. The monthly international rig count was initiated in 1975.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is up $1.80 to $83.92 per barrel. Brent crude is up $1.71 to $86.22 per barrel. Gasoline last traded at $2.421 per gallon up 3.7 cents on the day. Get ready to pay more at the pump.

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Rail Traffic Slowed down in January

North American rail traffic dropped 17.4% in week ended January 8

The Association of American Railroads, AAR, reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending January 8.

For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 440,761 carloads and intermodal units, down 16% compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending January 8 were 210,020 carloads, down 10.6% compared with the same week in 2021, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 230,741 containers and trailers, down 20.4% compared to 2021.

For the first week of 2022, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 210,020 carloads, down 10.6% from the same point last year; and 230,741 intermodal units, down 20.4% from last year.

Total combined U.S. traffic for the first week of 2022 was 440,761 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 16% compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending January 8, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 288,324 carloads, down 13% compared with the same week last year, and 298,984 intermodal units, down 21.2% compared with last year.

Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 587,308 carloads and intermodal units, down 17.4%.

North American rail volume for the first week of 2022 was 587,308 carloads and intermodal units, down 17.4% compared with 2021.

Publicly traded companies in the space include CSX (CSX), Canadian National (CNI), Canadian Pacific (CP), Kansas City Southern (KSU), Norfolk Southern (NSC), Union Pacific (UNP), FreightCar America (RAIL),Trinity Industries (TRN) and Greenbrier (GBX).

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